policy<\/a>, the\u00a0subsequent\u00a0investigation may include OSRR officials contacting external parties, such as parole officers, prison wardens or officials from\u00a0previous\u00a0schools, to evaluate an applicant\u2019s past behavior. In some cases, applicants are requested to\u00a0participate\u00a0in an interview to discuss the incident and any\u00a0subsequent\u00a0history.\u00a0<\/p>\nJason Fronczek, machine shop manager at UCF\u2019s School of Visual Arts and Design, spent five years in prison before finding his way to campus\u00a0to receive his bachelor’s and\u00a0master’s\u00a0degrees \u2014 and then began teaching at his alma mater.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alongside other advocates, he has spent years petitioning the university to “ban the box,” arguing that the requirement acts as a significant psychological hurdle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the most important thing\u00a0is to be brave. Claim it, check the box,\u201d Fronczek said. \u201cBut our argument has always been: What about the people that stop there? How many students did we lose because that process is intimidating?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The university\u00a0maintains\u00a0that the process is a routine safeguard rather than a barrier, often citing that\u00a0the vast majority of\u00a0applicants who\u00a0disclose\u00a0a record are eventually cleared.<\/p>\n
Advocates argue the data does not track “application desertion.” This occurs when qualified individuals halt their application upon\u00a0encountering\u00a0the disclosure requirement and the prospect of a background investigation. Fronczek believes simply seeing the\u00a0disclosure requirement can turn prospective students away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The OSRR review concludes with one of three outcomes: cleared for standard admission, denied or “cleared with probation.” Students in the latter category are admitted, but placed on disciplinary probation for a\u00a0set number\u00a0of semesters or the duration of their enrollment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlike academic admissions decisions, an OSRR recommendation of “not cleared” carries no formal path for appeal.\u00a0If the executive director of OSRR deems a\u00a0student\u00a0a “safeguard” risk, the denial is final.<\/p>\n
![\"Walter](\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\")
<\/p>\n
Walter Dunn, statewide coordinator for the Florida Coalition for Higher Education in Prison, displays his daily reminders and goals in his office inside the John C. Hitt Library. Formerly incarcerated and wrongfully convicted, he always tries to keep his eyes on the prize.<\/p>\n
Claire Macchiarola<\/p>\n
Walter Dunn, a statewide coordinator for UCF\u2019s Florida Coalition for Higher Education in Prison, understands the weight of this scrutiny. Dunn spent\u00a0nearly 13\u00a0years in state prison following a wrongful conviction. Today, he works for the same institution that requires disclosures he believes can foster unintended bias.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to change the status quo,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to rewrite history and start adding people who can add to the education, add to the discussion, by giving them a job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dunn argued that the presence of justice-impacted employees and students provides an essential perspective. He noted that the requirement to\u00a0disclose\u00a0can often\u00a0feel like giving\u00a0an institution “a piece of evidence” to justify a denial before a candidate’s qualifications are even considered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue opportunity comes when we can sit down like people and discuss the job,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cTreat them like everybody\u00a0else, but\u00a0at least give them opportunities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the university\u00a0maintains that the\u00a0process is\u00a0necessary to\u00a0identify\u00a0potential risks, Fronczek and Dunn represent a growing number of Knights who argue that lived experience is a campus asset. For those currently navigating the\u00a0application process, Fronczek\u2019s advice is born of the current policy\u2019s reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, you\u2019re fighting for your life,\u201d Fronczek said. \u201cJust go for it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jason Fronczek, machine shop manager for UCF’s School of Visual Arts and Design, explains his layered history with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4401,1167,115,139,141,140,99],"class_list":["post-250665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-academics","tag-administration","tag-news","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}